Ni hao

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Anonymous
said:

Maybe not the language school - but both international schools; that is, Denver Montclair International School and Colorado International School, do offer ECE. Both are enrolled in the Denver Preschool Program. I think these are GREAT options for preschool!

I have been wondering the same thing - why doesn't the language school DPS recently approved as a new charter offer ECE? The earlier they start to learn a new language the better. DMIS won't even take any kids older than 5/6 for immersion because the chance to speak like a native has already diminished so greatly. I have a friend who has been taking her daughter to the Alliance Francais since she was two, and her daughter is starting at DMIS this fall in their 3-year old French program. I would love to know the answer to your question! Oh, and also why aren't they offering French?

DMIS wants sufficient familiarity with the language for first grade, which is more like 6/7. Stating off in language immersion in K is fine for DMIS, though earlier is better. (Both my son and daughter attend DMIS.) As a private school, they also have the flexibility to look at situations on a case-by-case basis.

The new campus is Lowry is much nicer than the old place DIS campus in Park Hill -- but the frequent trips down in Lowry make me glad I live in Stapleton.

I also had a child who attended DMIS. AFAIK DMIS won't take kids in 1st grade who haven't previously been exposed to the language, not "because the chance to speak like a native has already diminished so greatly" but rather because then the language abilities in the classroom will vary too much -- it is not fair to the children who have been there from age 3-4 to be in a class where a large proportion of children don't speak the target language. It would really impact the teacher's ability to teach literacy skills at an appropriate level in the target language. Child language acquisition research shows that children can learn a language as a native up to about age 11 (in the right environment).

The Denver Language School most likely can't offer ECE -- at least in the initial years -- due to budgetary constraints as a charter school, since ECE is not funded through normal public school funds. It also adds burdensome requirements for their facilities, for instance a requirement for a separate ECE playground and different bathroom rules from a K-5 school. These issues would make it even harder for them to find an appropriate facility.